WVMP Radio series
WVMP Radio series by Jeri Smith-Ready Genres and Sub-Genres Urban Fantasy Series Description or Overview An adult urban fantasy series about vampire DJs and the con artist who fights for their way of un-life. ~ Maryse's Book Blog WVMP is an independent radio station and the home of several vampire DJs. Their decade-themed shows help them deal with passing time. Ciara Griffin, (ex-)con artist, quickly becomes entangled in the vampires' business when she is hired at the station as a marketing intern. ~ Dark Urban Fantasy: WVMP Books in Series WVMP Radio series: # Wicked Game (2008) # Bad to the Bone (2009) # Bring On the Night (2010) # Lust for Life (2012) ~ Final Shorts, Novellas, Anthologies and Guides * 3.5. Let it Bleed (2012) ~ Free Other Series by Author onsite * Aspect of Crow Trilogy * Shade series Themes World Building Setting Failing radio station in small-town Sherwood, Maryland. Places: * Smoking Pig: bar—owner: Stuart * Bernita: * Youngstown: Supernatural Elements ✥ Vampires, zombies, canine vampire, cultists, paramilitary, humans with special powers, fatal virus making zombies, anti-holy powers, magic, fanatics... Glossary: * Vampire Characteristics: traditional sun-sensitivity, super-strength and speed, and reliance on human blood, he or she is stuck mentally in the time period in which the turn takes place—when they die—decapitation or stake—its body inverts through the wound and disappears. 'Groups & Organizations': * The Control: paranormal paramilitary agency that does its best to keep vampires in line—International Agency for the Control and Management of Undead Corporeal Entities, governs many aspects of the vampires’ lives * Immanence Corps: special-ops division of Control; run by the Control’s oldest vampire and filled with humans who claim to have special powers. * Skywave: World When former con-artist Ciara (pronounced KEERA-ah) Griffin gets a marketing job at a failing radio station in small-town Sherwood, Maryland, she soon learns that the station’s DJs are all vampires, so she turns the station into “WVMP—the Lifeblood of Rock ’n’ Roll,” and the vampires are an instant success with the listeners. Each vampire plays only the music that was popular during the decade preceding his or her death, and each book includes a play list of the songs that are intricately woven into the plot. The sudden reappearance of Ciara’s double-dealing father and a paramilitary group called the International Agency for the Control and Management of Undead Corporeal Entities (aka the Control), which governs many aspects of the vampires’ lives, complicate the lives of Ciara and the vampires. Vampires in this world have the traditional sun-sensitivity, super-strength and speed, and reliance on human blood. When one of these vampires dies—either from decapitation or a stake through the heart—its body inverts through the wound and disappears, leaving just the clothing behind. In this mythology, when a human is turned into a vampire, he or she is stuck mentally in the time period in which the turn takes place. At WVMP, this means that each DJ specializes in the music that was popular during the decade prior to his or her death. In an inventive twist, the vamps at WVMP are members of the "27 club," the term used to refer to the long list of legendary musicians who died at that young age. So...no matter how long ago they were turned, all of the DJs appear to be in their late twenties. Humor is both situational and conversational and includes the consequences of an odd vampiric trait of obsessive-compulsive behavior (e.g., alphabetizing a CD collection, compulsively counting things). ~ Fang-tastic Fiction: Jeri Smith-Ready: WVMP RADIO SERIES Protagonist ✥ Ciara Griffin: I'm the marketing/promotions manager for WVMP - The Lifeblood of Rock 'n' Roll. It's a vampire radio station in Sherwood, MD. Yep, the DJs are really vampires *wink* Come visit us at www.wvmpradio.com. Feed the Need - WVMP: The Lifeblood of Rock 'n' Roll. Trying really hard to leave her con artist days behind her. ✥ Shane McAllister: Ciara’s love interest is the DJ, Shane McAllister, a 1990s grunge rocker. As the series moves along, Ciara and her friends battle evil in several forms, including a powerful and violent vampire who wants to keep vampires out of the public eye and a group of fanatics who want all vampires dead. ~ Fang-tastic Fiction :Gen X-ers rejoice (with irony, of course). From indie rock and cowpunk to grunge boys and riot grrrls, relive the late 80s and early 90s with Shane McAllister and his eclectic "Whatever" broadcast. No pretension, no bullshit, and absolutely no Foo Fighters. Book Cover Summaries ✤ BOOK ONE - Wicked Game (2008): Late-night radio you can sink your teeth into.... Recovering con artist Ciara Griffin is trying to live the straight life, even if it means finding a (shudder!) real job. She takes an internship at a local radio station, whose late-night time-warp format features 1940s blues, 60s psychedelia, 80s Goth, and more, all with an uncannily authentic flair. Ciara soon discovers how the DJs maintain their cred: they're vampires, stuck forever in the eras in which they were turned. Ciara's first instinct, as always, is to cut and run. But communications giant Skywave wants to buy WMMP and turn it into just another hit-playing clone. Without the station—and the link it provides to their original Life Times—the vampires would "fade," becoming little more than mindless ghosts of the past. Suddenly a routine corporate takeover becomes a matter of life and un-death. To boost ratings and save the lives of her strange new friends, Ciara re-brands the station as "WVMP, the Lifeblood of Rock 'n' Roll." In the ultimate con, she hides the DJs' vampire nature in plain sight, disguising the bloody truth as a marketing gimmick. WVMP becomes the hottest thing around—next to Ciara's complicated affair with grunge vamp Shane McAllister. But the "gimmick" enrages a posse of ancient and powerful vampires who aren't so eager to be brought into the light. Soon the stakes are higher—and the perils graver—than any con game Ciara's ever played. ~ Wicked Game (WVMP Radio, #1)- FF ✤ BOOK TWO - Bad to the Bone (2009): TURN ON. TUNE IN. DROP DEAD. If you're just joining us, welcome to radio station WVMP, "The Lifeblood of Rock'n'Roll." Con-artist-turned-station-owner Ciara Griffin manages an on-air staff of off-the-wall DJs—including her new boyfriend Shane McAllister—who really sink their teeth into the music of their "Life Time" (the era in which they became vampires). It's Ciara's job to keep the undead rocking, the ratings rolling, and the fan base alive—without missing a beat. For Halloween, WVMP is throwing a bash sure to raise the dead. They've got cool tunes, hot costumes, killer cocktails—what could go wrong? Well, for starters, a religious firebrand ranting against the evils of the occult preempts the station's midnight broadcast. Then, when Ciara tracks down the illegal transmission, the broadcast tower is guarded by what appears to be...a canine vampire? And behind it all is a group of self-righteous radicals who think vampires suck (and are willing to stake their lives on it). Now Ciara must protect the station while struggling with her own murky relationship issues, her best friend's unlikely romance with a fledgling vampire, and the nature of her mysterious anti-holy powers. To make it to New Year's in one piece, she'll need to learn a few new tricks. ~ Goodreads | Bad to the Bone (WVMP Radio, #2) by Jeri Smith-Ready ✤ BOOK THREE - Bring On the Night (2010): WHAT'S BLOOD GOT TO DO WITH IT? Recovering con artist Ciara Griffin seems to finally have it all. A steady job at WVMP, the Lifeblood of Rock ’n’ Roll. A loving relationship with the idiosyncratic but eternally hot DJ Shane McAllister. A vampire dog who never needs shots or a pooper-scooper. And after nine years, it looks as if she might actually finish her bachelor’s degree! But fate has other plans for Ciara. First she must fulfill her Faustian bargain with the Control, the paranormal paramilitary agency that does its best to keep vampires in line. Turns out the Control wants her for something other than her (nonexistent) ability to kick undead ass. Her anti-holy blood, perhaps? Ciara's suspicions are confirmed when she's assigned to a special-ops division known as the Immanence Corps, run by the Control's oldest vampire and filled with humans who claim to have special powers. To a confirmed skeptic like Ciara, it sounds like a freak fest. But when a mysterious fatal virus spreads through Sherwood, and corpses begin to rise from their graves. Ciara will not only get a crash course in zombie-killing, but will be forced to put her faith, and her life itself, in the hands of magic. ~ Goodreads | Bring on the Night (WVMP Radio, #3) by Jeri Smith-Ready ✤ BOOK FOUR - Lust for Life (2012): Former con artist Ciara Griffin hopes to settle into a normal un-life as a fledgling vampire, with the help of her fiancé, grunge DJ/guitarist Shane McAllister. But when the WVMP station crew reports that hippie vampire DJ Jim has murdered a pair of humans—humans who happen to share Ciara's last name—that's when trouble rolls out the red carpet. To redeem her past and pay back her most wounded victim, Ciara plans one final triple-crossing con game—with her own "miracle blood" as the bait. And as Ciara clings to what's left of her humanity, she'll need her new vampire strength—and old con artist cunning—now more than ever. ~ Goodreads | Lust for Life (WVMP Radio, #4) Category:Series